[2152] in peace2
Tax Cut (aka stimulus package)
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (felixauyeung@juno.com)
Sun Jan 12 22:45:55 2003
From: felixauyeung@juno.com
To: peace-announce@mit.edu
Date: Sun, 12 Jan 2003 22:35:05 -0500
Message-ID: <20030112.223942.-259439.2.FelixAuYeung@juno.com>
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Both parties face lots of bargaining on economic plans
Sunday, January 12, 2003
By Ann McFeatters
Post-Gazette National Bureau
http://post-gazette.com/nation/20030112econ0112nat3.asp
(go to link, some graphics, differentiates between the two plans.
and then, Bono's Africa tour partner, now private citizen...)
Paul O'Neill on the Bush tax cut: 'I would not have done it'
Sunday, January 12, 2003
By Steve Massey and Christopher Snowbeck
Post-Gazette Staff Writers
http://post-gazette.com/nation/20030112oneilltwonat2p2.asp
Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, in his first public comments
since being forced out of the Bush administration in December, said money
from the president's $674 billion tax-cut plan would be better spent on
shoring up the nation's ailing Social Security system.
In an interview Friday for the KD/PG Sunday Edition television show and
in comments afterward, O'Neill said he saw minor value in eliminating
taxes on corporate dividends as proposed by Bush but added, "I would not
have done it."
O'Neill made clear he preferred to avoid direct criticism of Bush, even
though it has been suggested their parting was less than amicable. "I was
never angry with the president," he said, when asked about his abrupt
departure. "I was happy to leave."
The former Alcoa chairman touched on his return to his hometown, where he
will work to improve the way health care is provided and to promote
patient safety. He said the model being developed locally could help cut
health care costs in half nationwide. Health costs now account for 14
percent of gross domestic product.
But most of his conversation, to be broadcast today at 11 a.m. on
KDKA-TV, focused on the economy, his views about leadership and his
two-year tenure in the Bush administration.
O'Neill was particularly critical of a political and media environment in
the nation's capital that he said stifled honest and substantive
discussions about problems confronting the country.
"It's all about sound bites, deluding the people, pandering to the lowest
common denominator," said O'Neill. "I didn't adjust [in Washington] and
I'm not going to start now."
Many believe O'Neill's exit from the Treasury was driven by his blunt
appraisal of Washington and recurring statements that roiled the markets
and rankled Republican leaders.
O'Neill once characterized a House Republican economic stimulus package
as "show business" and described traders on Wall Street as people who
"sit in front of a flickering green screen" all day, not the sort of
people you would want to help you think about "complex questions."
He also had said it was "not acceptable" that Bush had failed to file a
timely disclosure of his 1990 sale of Harken Energy Corp. stock while a
member of the company's board. Bush sold the stock shortly before the
company announced $22 million in losses. When O'Neill was queried about
the matter, he responded: "Did I ever do an untimely filing of Form F?
No. Any other questions?"
While O'Neill had been criticized during his tenure for being absent from
the national stage at times of troubling economic news, he reiterated
during a break from taping the KD/PG show that government shouldn't be
expected to provide short-term economic fixes.
Referring to numbers released Friday that showed the nation's businesses
shed 101,000 jobs in December, continuing a string of disappointing
monthly jobless reports, O'Neill said: "The notion that government can
actually do something about that in the short term is ridiculous."
O'Neill said the current 6 percent unemployment rate is "not bad" when
viewed in the context of the past 30 to 40 years. He said believes the
economy, bolstered by "amazing" productivity gains the past five years,
has the potential to grow at a 3.5 percent to 4 percent rate "for as far
into the future as anyone can see" once the recovery takes root.
In fact, he said, productivity gains have been one of the forces holding
back employment as businesses learn to do more with fewer workers.
Another challenge for the economy, he said, is accommodating the influx
of immigrants entering the labor force -- the economy must generate
roughly 100,000 to 125,000 jobs a month just to absorb new entrants into
the work pool.
To achieve that level of job growth, O'Neill said, requires new ideas
about how to do business. Unfortunately, creative leadership -- in
Washington and in many corporations -- is often lacking, he said.
"Real leadership requires you to stick your neck out and have a point of
view that other people, at least not a lot of other people, have," he
said. "People [don't] want to stick out their neck because they don't
have the courage of their convictions that they can really succeed in
raising things to a higher level of performance."
During his brief stint at the Treasury, O'Neill slashed the time it took
the department to complete its year-end financial accounting from five
months to three days. He achieved similar feats at Alcoa, where as
chairman from 1987 to 1999, he embarked on a range of initiatives that
made the company a world leader in safety and efficiency.
O'Neill said his time in Washington was worthwhile. He credited Bush for
dealing effectively with the threat of terrorism and said the president
hasn't gotten enough credit for the concern he brings to education
issues.
"I'm a supporter of the institution of the presidency, and I'm determined
not to say any negative things about the president and the Bush
administration," O'Neill said. "They have enough to do without having me
as a sharpshooter."
One of his biggest regrets, O'Neill said, is leaving behind unfinished
business, such as reforming the tax code and addressing Social Security's
long-term ills.
He called the current tax code "an abomination ... there's no single
human being who understands it all." Due to the tax code's complexity, he
estimated that roughly $200 billion a year goes uncollected and an
additional $200 billion a year is spent by businesses and individuals to
comply with the tax rules.
"In the time that I was at the Treasury, I had people collecting all the
best ideas that have been put forward over the past 30 years about
fundamental tax reform and put them into a catalog to begin having
discussions with the president," O'Neill said. "I hope that work will go
forward."
As for Social Security, O'Neill favored creating, over several decades, a
new system that would let individuals build up to $1 million of savings
by the time they retire.
He admitted such a plan would be complicated and hard to achieve, in part
because it would be viewed as replacing guaranteed payments with
investments that would be subject to the whims of the economy.
But he also noted that the current system, which is expected to start
sending out more money than it takes in as baby boomers start to retire,
cannot be sustained because it relies on existing workers paying for
retirees.
"I believe that we need to have a system that guarantees that people are
going to have wealth when they retire that can sustain them through their
non-working years,'' he said. "And the way to do that is to have
mandatory savings."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
Steve Massey can be reached at smassey@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1174.
Christopher Snowbeck can be reached at csnowbeck@-post-gazette.com or
412-263-2625.
----__JNP_000_61d3.2306.02eb
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<DIV>Both parties face lots of bargaining on economic plans </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sunday, January 12, 2003<BR>By Ann McFeatters<BR>Post-Gazette National=
=20
Bureau <BR><A=20
href=3D"http://post-gazette.com/nation/20030112econ0112nat3.asp">http://=
post-gazette.com/nation/20030112econ0112nat3.asp</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>(go to link, some graphics, differentiates between the two plans.</DIV>
<DIV>and then, Bono's Africa tour partner, now private citizen...)</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Paul O'Neill on the Bush tax cut: 'I would not have done it'</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sunday, January 12, 2003<BR>By Steve Massey and Christopher=20
Snowbeck<BR>Post-Gazette Staff Writers<BR><A=20
href=3D"http://post-gazette.com/nation/20030112oneilltwonat2p2.asp">http://=
post-gazette.com/nation/20030112oneilltwonat2p2.asp</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, in his first public comments =
since=20
being forced out of the Bush administration in December, said money from =
the=20
president's $674 billion tax-cut plan would be better spent on shoring up =
the=20
nation's ailing Social Security system.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In an interview Friday for the KD/PG Sunday Edition television show =
and in=20
comments afterward, O'Neill said he saw minor value in eliminating taxes on=
=20
corporate dividends as proposed by Bush but added, "I would not have done=20
it."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>O'Neill made clear he preferred to avoid direct criticism of Bush, =
even=20
though it has been suggested their parting was less than amicable. "I was =
never=20
angry with the president," he said, when asked about his abrupt departure. =
"I=20
was happy to leave."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The former Alcoa chairman touched on his return to his hometown, where=
he=20
will work to improve the way health care is provided and to promote patient=
=20
safety. He said the model being developed locally could help cut health =
care=20
costs in half nationwide. Health costs now account for 14 percent of gross=
=20
domestic product.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>But most of his conversation, to be broadcast today at 11 a.m. on KDKA=
-TV,=20
focused on the economy, his views about leadership and his two-year tenure =
in=20
the Bush administration.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>O'Neill was particularly critical of a political and media environment=
in=20
the nation's capital that he said stifled honest and substantive =
discussions=20
about problems confronting the country.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"It's all about sound bites, deluding the people, pandering to the =
lowest=20
common denominator," said O'Neill. "I didn't adjust [in Washington] and I'm=
not=20
going to start now."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Many believe O'Neill's exit from the Treasury was driven by his blunt=
=20
appraisal of Washington and recurring statements that roiled the markets =
and=20
rankled Republican leaders.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>O'Neill once characterized a House Republican economic stimulus =
package as=20
"show business" and described traders on Wall Street as people who "sit in =
front=20
of a flickering green screen" all day, not the sort of people you would =
want to=20
help you think about "complex questions."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>He also had said it was "not acceptable" that Bush had failed to file =
a=20
timely disclosure of his 1990 sale of Harken Energy Corp. stock while a =
member=20
of the company's board. Bush sold the stock shortly before the company =
announced=20
$22 million in losses. When O'Neill was queried about the matter, he =
responded:=20
"Did I ever do an untimely filing of Form F? No. Any other questions?"</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>While O'Neill had been criticized during his tenure for being absent =
from=20
the national stage at times of troubling economic news, he reiterated =
during a=20
break from taping the KD/PG show that government shouldn't be expected to=20
provide short-term economic fixes.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Referring to numbers released Friday that showed the nation's =
businesses=20
shed 101,000 jobs in December, continuing a string of disappointing monthly=
=20
jobless reports, O'Neill said: "The notion that government can actually do=
=20
something about that in the short term is ridiculous."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>O'Neill said the current 6 percent unemployment rate is "not bad" when=
=20
viewed in the context of the past 30 to 40 years. He said believes the =
economy,=20
bolstered by "amazing" productivity gains the past five years, has the =
potential=20
to grow at a 3.5 percent to 4 percent rate "for as far into the future as =
anyone=20
can see" once the recovery takes root.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In fact, he said, productivity gains have been one of the forces =
holding=20
back employment as businesses learn to do more with fewer workers. Another=
=20
challenge for the economy, he said, is accommodating the influx of =
immigrants=20
entering the labor force -- the economy must generate roughly 100,000 to =
125,000=20
jobs a month just to absorb new entrants into the work pool.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>To achieve that level of job growth, O'Neill said, requires new ideas =
about=20
how to do business. Unfortunately, creative leadership -- in Washington and=
in=20
many corporations -- is often lacking, he said.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"Real leadership requires you to stick your neck out and have a point =
of=20
view that other people, at least not a lot of other people, have," he said.=
=20
"People [don't] want to stick out their neck because they don't have the =
courage=20
of their convictions that they can really succeed in raising things to a =
higher=20
level of performance."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>During his brief stint at the Treasury, O'Neill slashed the time it =
took=20
the department to complete its year-end financial accounting from five =
months to=20
three days. He achieved similar feats at Alcoa, where as chairman from 1987=
to=20
1999, he embarked on a range of initiatives that made the company a world =
leader=20
in safety and efficiency.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>O'Neill said his time in Washington was worthwhile. He credited Bush =
for=20
dealing effectively with the threat of terrorism and said the president =
hasn't=20
gotten enough credit for the concern he brings to education issues.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"I'm a supporter of the institution of the presidency, and I'm =
determined=20
not to say any negative things about the president and the Bush =
administration,"=20
O'Neill said. "They have enough to do without having me as a=20
sharpshooter."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>One of his biggest regrets, O'Neill said, is leaving behind unfinished=
=20
business, such as reforming the tax code and addressing Social Security's=20
long-term ills.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>He called the current tax code "an abomination ... there's no single =
human=20
being who understands it all." Due to the tax code's complexity, he =
estimated=20
that roughly $200 billion a year goes uncollected and an additional $200 =
billion=20
a year is spent by businesses and individuals to comply with the tax=20
rules.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"In the time that I was at the Treasury, I had people collecting all =
the=20
best ideas that have been put forward over the past 30 years about =
fundamental=20
tax reform and put them into a catalog to begin having discussions with the=
=20
president," O'Neill said. "I hope that work will go forward."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>As for Social Security, O'Neill favored creating, over several decades=
, a=20
new system that would let individuals build up to $1 million of savings by =
the=20
time they retire.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>He admitted such a plan would be complicated and hard to achieve, in =
part=20
because it would be viewed as replacing guaranteed payments with =
investments=20
that would be subject to the whims of the economy.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>But he also noted that the current system, which is expected to start=
=20
sending out more money than it takes in as baby boomers start to retire, =
cannot=20
be sustained because it relies on existing workers paying for retirees.</=
DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"I believe that we need to have a system that guarantees that people =
are=20
going to have wealth when they retire that can sustain them through their=20
non-working years,'' he said. "And the way to do that is to have mandatory=
=20
savings."</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>----------------------------------------------------------------------=
----------<BR>Steve=20
Massey can be reached at <A=20
href=3D"mailto:smassey@post-gazette.com">smassey@post-gazette.com</A> or=20
412-263-1174. <BR>Christopher Snowbeck can be reached at <A=20
href=3D"mailto:csnowbeck@-post-gazette.com">csnowbeck@-post-gazette.com</A>=
or=20
412-263-2625.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></BODY></HTML>
----__JNP_000_61d3.2306.02eb--
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